The use of tasers by Cheshire Constabulary has increased by more than tenfold in five years - the fifth greatest increase in England and Wales.

Between January and June this year, the force used the non-lethal weapons on 67 occasions, up by 1,017% on their use on six occasions between July and December 2009.

This huge rise over the five-year period has been backed up with an 8% increase in the past six months.

Between July and December 2013, officers used tasers on 62 occasions compared to the 67 uses in the past six months.

The data, released by the Home Office, does not require a taser to be fired for it to be used.

Occasions on which it was removed from its container as well as occasions on which it was fired are measured, therefore.

But Cheshire Constabulary's assistant chief constable Mark Roberts explained that the devices play a valuable role in safeguarding people across

the county and that their use has decreased since 2012.

He said: “It is important to note that taser use in Cheshire has actually gone down since 2012 from 82 to 67 despite the fact more response

officers have been trained and kitted out with the devices since their introduction in 2009.

“Cheshire Constabulary trains specially selected officers in the use of tasers and training extends to identifying in what operational circumstances a

taser should be deployed.

"Tasers are used responsibly and only where necessary to safeguard the public and officers when they are faced with extreme violence or a threat

of extreme violence.

“A recent example of their use was in breaking up a large scale fight where people were attacking each other with weapons including an axe.

"The simple presence of the tasers, without them actually being discharged, meant further people weren’t seriously injured, and the officers were

 not assaulted.

"Our use of taser is in line with other similar forces and they make an important contribution to keeping the public in Cheshire safe and decreasing

 the number of assaults on officers.”

Tasers were discharged 949 times across England and Wales in the first half of 2014.

Discharges include instances in which the taser was fired from a distance and when the taser was discharged from close range while being held

against the person that the police are attempting to subdue.